-
Who Was Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who developed the general theory of relativity. He is considered one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century. -
THE SMART
At the age of five, Albert Einstein becomes fascinated by his father's pocket compass, intrigued by invisible forces that cause the needle always to point north. Later in life, Einstein will look back at this moment as the genesis of his interest in science. -
MOVING TO ITALY
Struggling financially, the Einstein family moves from Germany to Italy in search of better work. Albert, aged fifteen, stays behind in Munich to finish his schooling, but soon either quits or is kicked out of his high school and follows his parents to Italy. -
Boarding School in Aarau
Albert Einstein attempts to get out of his last year of high school by taking an entrance exam to ETH, the Swiss Polytechnic University in Zurich. He fails the test, forcing him to attend one final year of high school in the small town of Aarau, Switzerland, instead. -
Einstein at ETH
Albert Einstein graduates from high school and begins attending ETH, the prestigious Swiss Polytechnic University in Zurich. -
Einstein Renounced German Citizenship
At the age of 17, Albert Einstein renounced his German citizenship to avoid mandatory military service in the German army. For the next four years, he will not be a legal citizen of any nation. -
College Graduation
Albert Einstein graduates from ETH with a degree in physics. He tries to find a teaching job, but is unable to obtain work. -
Swiss Citizenship
Albert Einstein obtains Swiss citizenship. -
Swiss Patent Office
Unable to find any work as a teacher or academic, Albert Einstein takes a job as a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. -
Annus Mirabilis
Over the course of a year that he will later describe as his "Annus Mirabilis"—his miraculous year—Albert Einstein publishes four major theoretical papers in the prestigious German academic journal Annalen Der Physik. The four papers include a groundbreaking new interpretation of the photoelectric effect as well as the first published exploration of the theory of Special Relativity and the first formulation of the famous equation e=mc2. -
Move to Prague
The Einsteins move to Prague, where Albert assumes his first full professorship after many years working at the Swiss Patent Office or teaching in part-time positions in Switzerland. -
Move Back to Zurich
After just a year in Prague, the Einsteins move back to Switzerland, to where Albert takes professorship at his alma mater, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. -
Director of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
Albert Einstein moves to from Zurich to Berlin to become the director of the prestigious Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. His marriage to Milena begins to unravel, and his wife and children decide to stay behind in Zurich. They will never live together as a family again. -
THE GENIUS
In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. In the following decade, he immigrated to the U.S. after being targeted by the Nazis. His work also had a major impact on the development of atomic energy. In his later years, Einstein focused on unified field theory.
